Identifying the Health Needs in the Community - Assignment Example

The Healthcare In identifying the health needs in the community, an interview was conducted among the different leaders in the medical field. Among those who are interviewed were Remy N, LMSW senior Clinical License social worker with Green Oaks psychiatry Hospital, Eno- Obong E. Senior case manager with VA community based care and Clay G., Med, PhD classroom teacher at Michelle Jordan, and counselor at Seagoville Elementary. In an interview with, Remy N, LMSW senior Clinical License social worker with Green Oaks psychiatry Hospital, she mentioned her awareness of health people 2020 as she explained the patient population she served. She was also glad they are making students to have knowledge on these polices for the future. Access to healthcare plays a major role on the well being of her clients; to narrow it down to access to community resources. She mentioned that she also served the mentally ill and homeless, 90% of this population do not have any form of medical coverage on our initial contact with them. They set up with government insurance and assist them with shelters to help with long term stabilization of their health. She also assisted government sponsored insurance with her clients the most popular emergent insurance is “Northstar” making $1800 or less in a year which is one of its biggest eligibility criteria. With this insurance they are able to get up to 30days in a government hospital of which a follow up ensues in community resources such as like boarding homes, shelters, or educational groups. Patients in these homes have access to continued care, they are seen by a psychiatrist on weekly basis who are paid by the government. She recommended that Advance practice nurses should be employed instead of letting the patients go for months without seeing a psychiatric. Having enough funds will provide shelter and healthcare to majority of the homeless in the community. Another community leader that was interviewed was Eno- Obong E. Senior case manager with VA community based care whereby she elaborated the influence of the community in the population’s health. Further, In an acute setting a patient is taken care of and discharged to home now when this client will return to the hospital with an exacerbation depends on how much education and community resources they have access to. It is in the community they make choices on their own. She cited her organization’s focus on empowering the client by increasing their knowledge by providing education for management of chronic disease. Before the invention of home health nurses, physical therapy or occupational therapy clients frequent the emergency room more often and care that can be provided at home takes the clients to a long stay in rehabs and hospitals. Education and monitoring the clients’ progress at home is one of the ways the organization is fulfilling this objective. Having enough funds will provide shelter and healthcare to majority of the homeless in the community. Eno- Obong cited the acute shortage of physicians as her main challenge, which is making it hard to have face to face meeting between physicians and the patients. Normally, Physicians are supposed to meet the clients every 60days, this is becoming challenge due to shortage of physicians in community care. Her suggestion is to employ Advanced practice nurses who have much better training in patient communication and care. In an interview with Clay G., Med, PhD classroom teacher at Michelle Jordan, and counselor at Seagoville Elementary School, Dr. Clay mentioned that the most substance used by children in my school is tobacco. He confirmed that Seagoville is in a low socio-economic area in Dallas County and has prevalence of drug users which these children are exposed to, the kids tend to pick up smoking or using drugs because of the area they live and grew up inside. Due to the low education and increasing poverty in this area, students rarely escape such poverty. Dr. Clay explained that students who use drugs display different behaviors. In addition to mood swings, students are usually jittery, lethargic, depressed, and unable to focus. When these behaviors are noticed by the teacher the parents are invited to meet with counselor and the child’s teacher. The school counselor in most cases provides weekly lessons to students on any issues related to drug and peer pressure. Schools together with district administrators mostly hold the Red Ribbon Drug Free week, which is a pledge for students not to use drugs. He recommended that the only thing that may help in reducing such drug abuse is early education and funding to increase resources that will help reach all children at a tender age. More commercials have to be designed to show students the effects of drug abuse such as, “this is your brain on drugs” campaign shown a few years ago, with the person’s brain presented inform of an egg being fried on a pan. Moreover, billboards are also necessary in educating students, in addition to the use of social networks such as Facebook; the youth are more likely to use such media. All these approaches will need funding from the government. Having enough funds will provide shelter and healthcare to majority of the homeless in the community. I will answer this question from my experience in the field. Yes this is a true statement; my service is given to clients in their homes. In an acute setting a patient is taken cared of and discharged to home now when this client will return to the hospital with an exacerbation depends on how much education and community resources they have access to. It is in the community they make choices on their own. My organization focuses on empowering the client by increasing their knowledge by providing education for management of chronic disease. Before the invention of home health nurses, physical therapy or occupational therapy clients frequent the emergency room more often and care that can be provided at home takes the clients to a long stay in rehabs and hospitals. Education and monitoring the clients progress at home is one of the ways my organization is fulfilling this objective The acute shortage of physicians is the main challenge, which is making it hard to have face to face meeting between physicians and the patients. Normally, Physicians are supposed to meet the clients every 60days, this is becoming challenge due to shortage of physicians in community care. My suggestion is to employ Advanced practice nurses who have much better training in patient communication and care. Read More